When the Angels agreed to terms with Raul Ibanez on Wednesday, they left themselves with one significant move — at most — to make before spring training.
Essentially, the starting lineup and bullpen are complete. General Manager Jerry Dipoto has one more card to play in the starting rotation, but the Angels are comfortable enough that they don’t have to make a move if it’s not one that they like.
It’s pretty simple:
The Angels want Masahiro Tanaka or Matt Garza. Period. They are already seriously involved with Garza, which is not to say a signing is immiment. It just means there is a lot of interest on both sides and there’s been a lot of talk, but in the end it’s really up to Garza.
Tanaka is probably a better pitcher, but he’ll also cost more. The Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs and a few other teams with deep pockets are likely to throw a lot of cash (six years, $120 million?) at Tanaka. Garza, on the other hand, figures to get something more like four or five years at $14-17 million per year.
If the Angels don’t get either, they will sit back and wait for something in the bargain bin five or six weeks from now. A veteran such as Chris Capuano runs $6-8 million today, and he’s got a pretty significant chance of turning into another Blanton-esque disaster. However, around Jan. 25, if Capuano or another pitcher like him is still looking for a job, then suddenly he may only be $3 million with some incentives. There are no $3 million disasters.
If they get a Capuano-type, he just has to provide a little insurance to make sure Tyler Skaggs doesn’t get a big league job before he’s ready. The Angels want to have the depth to make sure they can afford to send down Skaggs if he needs some seasoning.
Given all that, here are your 2014 Angels, with one move to go…
LINEUP
1. Kole Calhoun RF
2. Mike Trout CF
3. Albert Pujols 1B
4. Josh Hamilton LF
5. Howie Kendrick 2B
6. Raul Ibanez DH
7. David Freese 3B
8. Chris Iannetta/Hank Conger C
9. Erick Aybar SS
(You could argue about how the 5-7 hitters should be aligned. I did it this way only so Ibanez and Hamilton, both lefties, aren’t hitting back to back. Ibanez is decent against lefties, so maybe it’s not a big deal.)
BENCH
Hank Conger/Chris Iannetta C
Andrew Romine IF (out of options)
J.B. Shuck OF
Collin Cowgill OF
(Obviously, the composition of the bench is not a big deal, especially in the American League. The first three spots are fairly solid. The fourth could be Cowgill or Grant Green or whoever. Doesn’t really matter.)
ROTATION
Jered Weaver RHP
C.J. Wilson LHP
Hector Santiago LHP
Garrett Richards RHP
Tyler Skaggs LHP
(If Garza joins the rotation he’s a No. 3. If it’s Tanaka he may also pitch third in the order, just because of respect for Wilson, but he could certainly wind up being better than Wilson. If it’s Capuano/Chen/Maholm/etc, he could be slotted anywhere from 3 to 5. Doesn’t really matter. That would means Skaggs has to win a job. He’s probably in the rotation or the minors. It’s unlikely Richards or Santiago would be bumped from the rotation, but both have bullpen experience and options.)
BULLPEN
Ernesto Frieri RHP (closer)
Joe Smith RHP (setup)
Sean Burnett LHP
Kevin Jepsen RHP
Dane De La Rosa RHP
Michael Kohn RHP
Fernando Salas RHP
(Those guys are pretty clearly the top seven, but a lot can happen. They could trade Jepsen if they want to save about a million bucks. They could keep Rule 5 pick Brian Moran or Clay Rapada if they want a second lefty. Cory Rasmus, Buddy Boshers, Michael Roth and Nick Maronde also could figure into the mix.)
